How to prevent scams like World Startup Convention and the Fyre festival?
The world is changing rapidly. The irony is that the form of scams is also changing. From the recent World Startup Convention scam in India to the late Fyre festival scam in the US, scammers sold hopes and earned millions. Let me tell you the way to detect such scams.
World Startup Convention is a scam of its type. Scammers scammed around 2000 entrepreneurs and stole millions of dollars. I also lost my ₹4300. Here is the complete story:
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I thought it was a scam of its type. But I was wrong. A similar fraud has already happened in the US some years back. It was the Fyre Festival scam.
What’s Common?
- Both scams sold high hopes.
- A social media influence. That’s why the power of social media may not be underrated.
- Influencers added oil to the fire.
- Both scams targeted the space in the market. Startups needed funding in India and abroad. Due to a lack of funding and connections, they were scammed. A similar situation was there in the US also. People wanted to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle. They were given a chance to fulfil that in the Fyre festival. In the same way, they also ended up losing money.
Why People became blind?
A scam with a single person may be justified. But a scam with many people at the same time needs good planning. World Startup Convention used
- Paid articles on News websites
- Ministers, Entrepreneurs, Global leaders, Businessmen’s images
- VCs logos
- turning off the comments in their posts
People don’t care for the organisers as soon as they believe the people in those photos will be coming. The name and fame associated with those photos are the biggest sellers of tickets for such events.
How to detect such things in future?⚠️
High Hopes
Every scam on this planet has a pattern in common. They try to sell hope. The difference between a scam and a real thing is that they show very high expectations. Expectations that can’t be met easily.
At the World Startup Convention, they showed us images of Narendra Modi, Elon Musk, Sheikh Hamdan, Gautam Adani and Masayoshi Son. Meeting with them feels like a dream comes true.
But high hopes are an alarm to scam.🚨
Ask…Isn’t it too much what they are claiming?
Influencers
Why do we stop asking questions to influencers? In this case, the show was promoted by YouTubers. During the Fyre festival, the show was advertised by Hollywood stars.
We must ask everyone:
With 0 Exemption…
Why?
What can be the intentions of the person behind it?
No need to waste money if you have any doubts. You may ask the organisers about the legality of the show.
Every influencer in the modern world posts about their upcoming public presence on their social media handles. In WSC’s case, only their social media was claiming such things. The influencers who had to come were silent.
Marketing Alarms🚨
World Startup Convention paid for the articles on a news website. A great event doesn’t need paid articles. Instead, it would be given free coverage by the media.
Why anyone needs paid coverage? Ask yourself.
Final Tip
Search with:-
[Name of the event] + [Scam]/[Fraud]
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